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From Benghazi loss, a foundation

Glen Doherty was one of four Americans killed when the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on Sept. 11, 2012. Glen's family said people should pay more attention to who Glen was than how he died.

Published: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.

Glen Doherty was one of four Americans killed when the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on Sept. 11, 2012. Glen's family said people should pay more attention to who Glen was than how he died.

Associated Press

“You would just fall in love with him,” said Glen’s uncle, Chuck Fendrych of Englewood. “He was always smiling and never had anything disparaging to say.”

The last time Fendrych saw his nephew, Glen said he would be taking his last trip abroad on a CIA deployment.

His family did not find out where Glen was stationed until they received the phone call every family of a service member dreads.

Glen was one of four Americans killed when the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked one year ago today.

After a year of polarizing debate, an FBI investigation, five U.S. House committee investigations, a State Department review and scores of other inquiries, answers as to what happened that evening remain murky and the name Benghazi has become linked to political debate.

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney even invoked Glen’s name at campaign events, until Glen’s mother, Barbara, asked him to stop.

But Fendrych said the rhetoric surrounding the circumstances of his nephew’s death is a dishonor to Glen’s memory.

“If we politicize it, we’re not doing anyone any favors,” Fendrych said. “As a family, we decided that all we want to express is that we loved this kid dearly. He was the kind of man anyone would have loved to have as a son.”

Fendrych considered Glen, who was 42 when he died, to be more of a son than a nephew.

More than a talking point

The 83-year-old looked into the distance Tuesday afternoon, summoning memories of his late nephew as he stirred his coffee in an Englewood cafe.

“He was never one to complain. I remember this one time he was backpacking in Alaska with a buddy, and the two got ripped off,” Fendrych said. Glen was without a wallet, any identification or even a way home. “He had to hitchhike back to San Diego with a bunch of hippies on a school bus. He thought it was hilarious.”

Fendrych said that positive attitude, combined with raw ambition, sustained Glen through life.

Glen’s mother, Barbara, said her son made friends easily because of his infectious personality.

“He was just joyful to be around,” she said. “And he was a great student.”

He studied briefly at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona before dropping out and becoming a white river rafting guide.

Eventually, Glen decided to try to become a Navy SEAL, one of the military’s most skilled and revered positions.

He enrolled with more than 100 other SEAL hopefuls and was one of 14 to earn the rank.

He served with the SEALs for 10 years, Fendrych said, though Glen would never divulge details about his work.

“He never said where he was going, what he was doing or how long he would be gone,” Fendrych said. “He kept the code of silence.”

After his time as a SEAL, Glen worked in intelligence and security in Washington, D.C., where he remained tight-lipped about his most recent job with the CIA.

The last time Fendrych saw Glen was over the 2011 holiday season.

Glen told the family that he would be deployed to the Middle East for the last time. He did not say where he was going or how long he was going to be there, as usual.

A hero in the ashes

Fendrych saw the Benghazi consulate attack on the news. He watched flames lash from the American Embassy and heard that U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens had been killed in an apparent attack.

The news made brief mention of three other Americans killed in the attack, but did not identify any of them by name.

Then the phone rang.

It was his niece, Katie Quigley.

The family was swept up in devastation and confusion after they learned of Glen’s death.

Barbara said it took at least two months before she and her family got a somewhat clear picture of what happened on Sept. 11, 2012.

According to a timeline assembled by the Associated Press, Glen was serving as a CIA security officer when the consulate came under attack.

He and fellow former SEAL Tyrone Woods led a group of about 20 to a nearby CIA annex while the consulate was under attack.

At about 5:15 a.m. Sept. 12, 2012, Glen and Tyrone were engaged in a firefight with attackers when the consulate was hit by a mortar explosion.

Glen was killed instantly.

On the day of Glen’s funeral, Fendrych said the streets of the Boston suburb of Winchester, where Glen grew up, were lined with law enforcement vehicles and American flags.

About 15 SEALs from across the country sat beside the family during Glen’s memorial service.

After Glen’s memorial flag was presented to his mother, the SEALs slowly got up and walked over to a blank board.

For SEAL graduates, it is a tradition to be presented with a Neptune pin by a superior officer. Once the pin is placed on the SEAL’s chest, the officer lightly punches the pin.

One by one, each of the SEALs pinned their Neptune pins on the board and punched it lightly.

“Every single one of them were crying,” Fendrych said, holding back tears of his own. “And these were big, tough ex-SEALs. But they had hearts of gold.”

The group presented the board to Glen’s nephews, who idolized their uncle.

As the family walked outside, a full military band played Amazing Grace.

Fendrych began to cry.

Since Glen’s funeral, Barbara said she finds comfort in helping families who lost loved ones in the military.

She and her family set up a foundation in Glen’s memory to award scholarships to the children of fallen military service members and to help veterans adjust to civilian life.

So far, two awards from the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation have been handed out.

She empathizes with the recipients’ struggles.

“It’s not just me that’s suffering,” Barbara said. “It’s all the hundreds of thousands of young men and women who believe in freedom so much that they give their lives so we can have what we have here.”

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